Device for removing tobacco leaves from laths



1,515,941 N W24. L. c. EDWARDS DEVICE FOR REMOVING TOBACCO LEAVES FROMLATHS Filed NOV. 5 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 v 2 1,515.911 1 L. c. EDWARDSDEVICE FOR REMOVING TOBACCO LEAVES FROM LATHS Filed Nov. 5 1923 v 2Sheets-Sheei 2 L LZ'FMMRDE Patented Nov. 18, 1924.

LOUIS C. EDWARDS, OF ELLINGTO'N, CONNECTICUT.

DEVICE FOR REMOVTNG TOBACCO LEAVES FROM LATHS.

Applieation'filed November 5, 1923. Serial No. 672,947.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS O. EDWARDS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Ellington, in the county of Tolland and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inDevices for Removing Tobacco Leaves from Laths; and I do declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in devices for removing leaves oftobacco from tobacco laths, upon which they have been cured, one objectof the invention being to provide means for operation at spaced pointsalong'the lath, for not only removing the tobacco leaves from prongs ofsaid lath, but for tightly holding such leaves while the lath is beingremoved, preventing any of the leaves from being caught on the lathprongs and moved aside therewith.

Another object is to provide unique means for guiding a loaded lath intoa pair of holders which engage its ends and retain the same during theleaf removing operation.

A still further object is to provide a unique manner of mounting theleafremoving fingers upon their carrying and operating bars. With theforegoing in view, the invention resides in the novel subject matterhereinafter described and claimed, the description being supplemented bythe accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a top plan view.

Figure 2 is a front elevation.

Figure 8 is a longitudinal sectional view on line 33 of Fig. 1. I t

Figure 4 is a bottom plan view with the legs of the table in horizontalsection.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the leafremoving fingers and theircarrying bars, showing the idle positions thereof.

Figure 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but illustrating the bars andfingers moved to leaf-removing and stem-gripping positions.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of one of the lath holders and the meansfor guiding the lath into the same.

FigureS is a vertical transverse sectional view as indicated by line 88of Fig. 4.

The form of construction selected for illustration in the presentapplication, includes a table having a horizontal top 1 formed with alongitudinal slot 2 and provided with upstanding transverse walls 3 atthe ends of said slot, the inner opposed sides of these walls beingformed with vertical grooves a which open also through the upper edgesof the walls, in order that a tobacco lath 5 may be downwardly insertedinto said grooves. The upper edges 6 of the walls 3 incline to the upperends of the grooves a and are r. bbeted to provide guidetracks 7 alongwhich the ends of the lath 5 may be moved, to easily guide said endsinto the holding grooves 4.

Under the table top 1, I slidably mount a pair of parallel bars 8 whoseinner opposed edges are provided with upstanding leaf-re moving fingers,the fingers of one of the bars being indicated by the numeral 9, whilethe others are designated by the character 9. The fingers 9 co-act withthe fingers 9 to provide pairs of such fingers movable toward each otherto force the stems of tobacco from the prongs 10 at opposite ends of theopenings 11 with which the lath is formed. These fingers then grip thestems and hold them while the lath 5 is being removed from the holdinggrooves 4, so that there is no danger of any of the stems being caughtby the prongs 10. When the fingers 9 and 9 are related as shown in Figs.3 and 5, the fingers of each pair are disposed at opposite ends of oneof the openings 11, but when the bars 8 are shifted oppositely, saidfingers move toward the center of the opening to force the tobacco stemsfrom the prongs 10.

Any suitable means may be provided for slidably mounting the bars 8 andfor moving them simultaneously in opposite directions, but I prefer toemploy a construction such as that disclosed. The bars 8 have theirupper sides in close proximity to the lower side of the table top 1 andtheir outer edges abut a' pair of parallel longitudinal guide bars 12which are secured to the frame structure of the table. Transverse bars13 extend between the guide bars 12 and support the bars 8, said bars 13being disposed near the ends of the bars 12, while a transverse plank orthe like 1 f extends between the central portions of said bars 12 and issecured to the lower edges thereof. Fulcrumedupon the upper side of themember 14, at the point 15, is an operating lever 16, and two links 17are pivoted to said lever at opposite sides of its fulcrum, one of saidlinks being pivoted to one of the bars 8, while the other link similarlyconnects with the other bar 8. Thus, when the lever 16 is operated, thebars will he slid in opposite directions-to operate the -lingers'9 and9.

-Mounted upon the top-of the table 1, I have shownasuitablelath-holdinghead 18 carriedby ahand-lever 19. This head and leverare=operated-to tightly hold the .lath 5- in'engage'ment with-thefingers 9 and 9, which is often essential, when the lath is unusuallythin and has a tendency to force away from i the fingers, in the holdinggrooves 4. If the fingers do not slide along the lath, there isaten'dency to merely bend the stems of the tobacco lea-ves, instead offorcingv such stems from the prongs 10.

To operatethe device, the bars 8 are set to position the fingers 9 and 9as shown in Figs. 1, '3 and 5. Then, a loaded tobacco lath-is insertedinto the upper ends of the grooves 4, the guides 7 being ofteninstrumental in properly guiding the endsof the lath into said groovesnInthe construction shown,the lower edge of the lath will pass throughthe slot 2 and rest upon one of the bars 8, but 1t willbe obvious thatin some instances, the lath might well rest upon the top of the table.Ifdesirable, the lever 19 is 'now operated to cause the head 18 to holdthe lath towardsthe-fingers 9 and 9 Then, thelever 16 isoperated tocause each finger 9-tomove toward its co-acting finger 9 and viceversa;This operation forces the stems of the tobacco leaves from the prongs 10and said stems will beheld bythe fingers, while the l'ath15 isbeingremoved. To facilitate the-stem-holding operation, the upper ends ofithefingers are preferably curved somewhatas indicated at 20. -"Obviously,the fingers 9 and 9 may be connected with their carrying barsin anydesired manner. I prefer however to form the upper sides of these barswith transverse saw-cuts or other grooves 21 and to provide the fingerswith elongated bases 221eceived in -said grooves and suitably held, forinstance, by staples 23.

By providingthe construction shown and described or a substantialequivalent thereof, a device is produced whichis simple and inexpensive,yet is highly efficient and in every way desirable. l As excellentresultsmay be obtained from thedetailsdisclosed, they may be followed ifdesired, but within the scope of the invention as claimed, numerousminor changes may be made.

I claim:

1. A tobacco leaf-removing device comprising common means at spacedpoints for forcing leaves of tobacco from a lalh and for gripping theleaves until released.

'2. A tobacco leaf ren'ioving device comprising a plurality of spacedpairs of lingers for'forcing leaves from prongs of a lath, and means foroperating said lingers to move the lingers of each pair toward eachother. 1

3. A tobacco leaf removing device coinprising a plurality of spacedpairs of lingers for forcing leaves from prongs of a lath, apairof'parallel bars mounted for longitudinal sliding, each bar carrying onefinger of each pair, and means for sliding said bars in oppositedirections tomove the lingers of each pair toward each other.

7 4;. A tobacco leaf removing device comprising a plurality of spacedpairs of lingers for forcing leaves from prongs of a lath, a pair ofparallel bars mounted for longitudinal sliding, each lmrearrying onelinger of each pair, a lever whose fulcrum is stationary with respect tosaid bars, and links pivoted to said lever at opposite sides of itsfulcrum, one link being pivoted to one bar and the other link to theother bar.

5. A tobacco leaf removing device comprising means for stationarilyholding a loaded lath on a predetermined line, and a plurality of spacedfingers mounted for movement adjacent to and parallel with said line forforcing tobacco leaves from the lath.

6. A tobacco leaf removing device comprising means for stationarilyholding a loaded lath on a predetermined line, a plurality of spacedlingers adjacent said line to extend transversely of the lath, and aslidably mounted bar'carrying said fingers and movable parallel to s-aidline.

7. A tobacco leaf removing device comprising a support, a pair of spacedlath holders rising from said support to receive the ends of a loadedlath, said holders opening horizontally toward each othe and being openat their upper ends for insertion of the lath, and a pair of tracksinclining to said open upper ends of said holders lo guide the lath endsto the latter.

8. A tobacco leafren'ioving device coinrising spaced holders for theends of a loaded lath, fingers mounted for movement along the lath toforce leaves therefrom, and means for forcing the lath laterally in saidholders into close relation with said lingers.

9. A tobacco leaf removing device comprising a table, a pair of parallelbars slidably mounted under the table, a plurality of upstanding fingerscarried alternately by said bars and extending to points above saidtable, the latter being slotted to receive said fingers, a pair of lathholders rising from the table to receive the ends of a loaded lath andhold the latter in a substantially vertical plane on the table in closerelation 5 With said fingers, and means under the table for oppositelysliding said bars.

10. A tobacco leaf removing device com prising a bar having transversegrooves, and a plurality of leaf-renioving fingers extending from saidbar and having bases secured in said grooves.

I11 testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.

LOUIS C. EDWARDS.

